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If Minds Had Toes: A Novel
by
Lucy Eyre
Fifteen-year-old Ben Warner is dizzy with boredom working at his local fish and chips shop. One evening, a young woman saunters in and, between mouthfuls of chips, invites him to visit her in the World of Ideas. Ben is excited, but suspicious. The World of Ideas is the philosopher's quarter of the afterlife, and adorable Lila has been residing there for thirty years, but b...more
Paperback, 288 pages
Published
March 6th 2007
by Bloomsbury USA
(first published 2007)
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If you had studied philosophy, politics, and economics at Oxford and then found yourself living in Addis Ababa, what would you do? Apparently, if you're Lucy Eyre, you write a delightful little novel about philosophy. The conceit here is that after death, philosophers can choose to enter a region called the World of Ideas and spend eternity on the questions that interested them in life. The story itself is a long thought experiment about how a still-living British teenager reacts to being introd...more
This book would be perfect for the right audience. I would say a girl or boy somewhere between 10 and 17 or so who did not know much about philosophy. Its a good introduction to many ideas that adults have pondered over the years of growing up. It delves into some very basic but very fundamental questions about humanity and what it means to be human, about death and how things exist in relation to each other. Unfortunately for the adult audience it is so basic as to render it a pointless read. B...more
It's a bit like those educational science shows they used to show in class after exams when nobody's paying attention since nothing counts toward the final report anyway. Characters and plots are heavily compromised for the sake for making the philosophical concepts more relevant and thus remain rudimentary. Extra star for Paul Jackson's super cute illustrations and an outstanding layout (the hardcover edition anyway). Yes, I'm shallow like that, maybe I shouldn't be reading popular philosophy i...more
To tell the truth, i'm a bit disappointed. This book started out with so much potential. The protagonist is a teenager and the theme is how philosophy could help in making his life better. wonderful! so finally there's a book that links a much obsolete subject with everyday life!
Yet, as the story unfolds the boy gets wrapped up in OBSELETE topics like "What is reality".... nothing to do with MODERN DAY LIFE!!! Along the way, the boy is ridiculed by his classmates, worried for by his parents and...more
Yet, as the story unfolds the boy gets wrapped up in OBSELETE topics like "What is reality".... nothing to do with MODERN DAY LIFE!!! Along the way, the boy is ridiculed by his classmates, worried for by his parents and...more
This book sounded really interesting, but there wasn't much to the actual story. It was like the author wanted to put a philosophy textbook (if there is such a thing) into a more palatable form for the masses. It got rather tiresome at times, but a few parts were definitely interesting. I think the part that struck me the most was the section where different philospher characters talked about what happiness is or isn't.
Mostly, I was just proud of myself for finishing it. :)
Mostly, I was just proud of myself for finishing it. :)
Apr 07, 2009
Kelly
marked it as decided-not-to-read
Found this at the Library today. Was wanting to get one more book (I wanted 3) and I had two already and just couldn't find another....Lila was growing impatient (she was being great up until this point looking at a Barbie display/collection) and was moaning to go downstairs. I grabbed just one more book, this one, and the heroine is named LILA! :)
It has a very quirky plot, and may enlighten me on philosophy as well.
It has a very quirky plot, and may enlighten me on philosophy as well.
This short book is such a fun mind-bender. I thoroughly enjoyed it and completely annoyed my family by reading passages out of it! And then I keep recommending it to anyone who says anything remotely philosophical.
A surprisingly fun introduction to a wide variety of differing philosophies. Very accessible, even for those who have no background in the subject material.
This book was extremely boring. I got to page 56 before I started skipping around to see if it got any better. Even the ending was dull; I didn't read the whole book, I just decided to read the ending to see if the end was more interesting than the beginning. It wasn't. There was absolutely nothing in it to hold my attention.
The main character is approached by a dead woman who is spending her afterlife in the World of Ideas, a place where philosophers or those who love philosophy may go when th...more
The main character is approached by a dead woman who is spending her afterlife in the World of Ideas, a place where philosophers or those who love philosophy may go when th...more
Picked this book up at the library due to the title and I wasn't disappointed. A nice read on practical philosophy.
the plot was silly, but the ideas are presented in interesting ways. a light hearted read and I liked it:)
A charming beginners guide to philosophy.
it was ok. A bit confusing since the book was all about philosophy. Okey je la.
I bought it for the title. Just was curious to find out where the title came from, so I bought it. If you imagine there is an afterlife where people sit around asking "why?" all day long, this is the book for you. Reminds me of what I thought heaven would look like when I was a kid. Tons of rooms and doors and different options of what to do and talk about all day long. Your tour guide is a 15 year old boy. I enjoyed the book very much.
The title attracted me initially. Witty. But unless you are a philosophy junkie, it will make you crazy.
this book is amazing! it is the story of this guy who gets to go to a kind of "limbo" between heaven and hell where dead philosophers live (if you can call it living). he is the key to the presidency of the limbo land, and socrates and wittgenstein are involved. if you liked i heart huckabees, you will love this book!
This book is Philosophy 101.
Someone might find Eyre's concept of a "World of Ideas" afterlife fascinating, but the way the story was crafted lacked substance. It felt more like juvenile fiction.
...Or like reading someone's Philosophy 101 creative term paper assignment.
...Or like reading someone's Philosophy 101 creative term paper assignment.
This is basically a Philosophy 101 class (with lots of debates) in the form of a novel. Once I started thinking of it in that way instead of expecting a compelling story in its own right, I started enjoying it more.
I have started reading this book, but it is an exceptional slow read. I am actually reading other books while I am trying to finish this book.
ummmmmmm, it's a book about philosophy. It alternately made my head hurt and irritated the hell out of me... nitpicking philosophy.
I don't usually care for philosophy, but this reminded me of the Phantom Tollbooth for people with graduate degrees.
An intro to philosophy textbook masquerading as a novel. Or vice versa. Is my life better for it.? Well, it's no worse.
Gives you a new way to look at things. Easier to read and understand if you've had at least Philosophy 101
Brilliant look at the major themes of philosophy through a story that is accessible to nearly everyone.
This book is all about philosophy. Funny dialog and very good philosophical debates.
"the unexamined life is not worth living"
-Socrates
-Socrates
very interesting, and pretty good
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